The 27th January is an international memorial day for the victims of the Holocaust; The genocide and the tragedy that has defiled the history books with bloodbath. The declaration of UN and its conventions and an end of 2nd World War was a aspiring statement that no more tragedies shall defile this Earth and its population again. But we were so wrong and still are. How many different forms of genocides before and after the Holocaust can be mentioned?!

The biggest tragedy is that tragedies are still ongoing! Through vast and obvious “symptomes” for a “potential” genocide it is possible to figure out the outcomes for such by calculating the political restrictions, discrimination in its all different shapes and socio-economic injustices with increasing xenophobia and totalitarian forces etc…

As long political power and economics are more important values than human rights or the human dignity, we will unfortunately never see any ray of hope for true Peace or Justice.

Today, we are more than ever a need for grassroots movements and their work on democracy and human rights. The Civil society’s pressure on governments and the international community (to act and to make explicit requirements and to take political actions) is more important than ever.

The power of the civil society must not fade – so how do we work to maintain a positive social development and sustainable democracy?!

Bless us with
Your Mercy to encounter every roller-coaster with a smile,
Hearts that strive for justice
Wisdom to give and embrace compassion
Knowledge to defend freedom
Curiosity in making new friends and
to explore new cultures and traditions

Strength in solidarity
Intellect that prevents us from dividing people in “we” and “them”
Power to give our children Warmth and Respect
Courage to dive for equity and equality
Mind with endless dreams and aspirations
Soul full of Love
Days with plenty of opportunities!
Ameen.

This is my prayer for us all. Happy New Year 2013!

~ Soona

Prayer is an open line to Heaven. No cards to use, no low battery problem, no error, no charging, always good signal, and all messages sent. Make prayer a habit.
~ Idlehearts

My gaze wanders back and forth through sections and headlines in media and newspapers. Everyone’s ambition to publish a comprehensive review of year 2012 is like trying see through a well-shaked snow globe.

I get the sense of that journalists have had lots of painkillers when trying hard to piece together a review of year 2012… Where to begin, how much of the light can be dimmed to cover the horror as much as possible and how to minimize the tragedies around the world so it actually fit the newspaper’s size and pages…?

I am not sure myself of how to summarize it – but I have decided to give it a try by creating a review of this year with news sections different from the ones in ordinary newspapers. The review is named “Year 2012 – spin-off effects on the major threats to Democracy and Human rights!”

I know it is not exactly a flashy name, but I am working on it.

Photographer: Unknown

The front page is renamed to “The Middle East never ending story”.

The terror people are facing in Syria today is mentioned in terms of “the biggest disaster, carnage or conflict.” In my review the headline is “Genocide of year 2012 where no country moved a finger to stop it!”

The conclusion to the crisis in countries around and in Middle East landed on that the region seems not to find any kind of light since the long tunnel-walk of the Arabic spring, summer, autumn nor winter this year and the last year.

The “Travel section” will remain in the review, but with a different approach. I travel through the different conflicts in Asia instead.

The conflict in Myanmar have displayed how ethno-nationalism suddenly can become far more important than the human dignity. My analyse though will point at how surprisingly little we have addressed the deepening divisions between the he Buddhist and Rohingya communities.

“Misogyny and violence against women” will replace the “World Sport” news section.

This is because violations of women’s rights have become the new sportstrend. The newspage will however be completely white and this due to that no one will ever be able to cover all the violence which is taking room against women in Europe, US, Latin America, Africa, Middle East, Asia etc…

Europe – hmm. “The Dizzying Section” maybe.

Analyses of the EU – which received the Noble Peace Prize, will make the reader more dizzy. The work for a democratic EU is good but my curiosity is turned towards the Noble Committee and what the underlying decision was based on? Was it the establishment of strict trade agreements with countries in Asia and Africa, meanwhile an open and free trade agreements are established with countries within the European borders? I still have not been able to grasp the equation of such a trade policy… If you have please share!

The Nobel Committee praised the EU’s role in transforming a European “continent of war” into a “continent of peace”.

Well that’s true, EU’s ambition is “to secure the EU borders from outsiders” where those “outsiders who might be a threat for Europe” (a.k.a. refugees who escape war, conflicts and natural catastrophes) find Greece and Italy as a big possibility for freedom. But the very moment these refugees try to spell “FREEDOM” their dignity is ripped off just like how the climate-change issue in the Doha conference was dumped in water-proof containers…

Read more about The Climate-change in the section “Issues of concern in which the UN will never find any kind of consensus solution”.

“Movies”

The European financial precipice and the US fiscal cliff where the economic challenges have created this year’s horror movie – increased unemployment and economic, social och political crisis, paving the way for more xenophobia and anti-human rights policies.

My analysis of the Youth unemployment can be read under the “Corruption section.”

The “Tech section” is renamed to “The Instagram Syndrome”

Anders Breivik and his attack in Norway where young people lost their lifes, and Adam Lanza and the Sandy Hook shooting where kids at a Elementary School were murdered cold-bloodedly reveals an analyze where the market of weapon have become alarming easy. People have been growing years of grey hair into requirements for stricter gun laws in both EU and the U.S. The way in how policymakers give promises of to find a solution to a real security without the presence of weapon, is like adding a new layer of blur effect and other cool effects to your pictures in Instagram.

Photographer: Timetocheck

The “U.S. news section” will offer the reader an “All for one and one for all” crossword game where the reader have to come up with reasons and outcomes in order to be able to reveal words such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

The news sections “Latin America, Russia, China and the Palestinian/Israeli conflict” will not be covered in my review since I will be out of pages.

Finally UN Security Council failure in to uphold its Responsibility to Protect (R2P) in Syria among other countries can be read under the “Weather section”.

Dear reader if you feel that your continent haven’t been covered well enough – then I’m truly sorry but I must take into consideration in how to make room for commercials and all the sponsors.